I’m so lucky that I’ve had a good set of friends around me. I’m not one of those that have flocks of people around me but the close friends I have (and have stuck around through out life upheaval in the form of two kids), I’m confident will be here for the long haul. We’ve grown together: had families, laughed, cried and suffered the sleep deprivation. However I’m aware that’s not always the case and today on the blog we have a guest post from a fellow blogger who has chosen to remain anonymous. I think you’ll see why…..
Week 22 – the beginning of the end
It’s the countdown to maternity now as I am back to work after a lovely week off – it’s not too long a stay as I only have 3 more weeks until I finish until February next year. I’m also cutting my weeks a little shorter by using the rest of my holidays to take Wednesday each week off and just relax and enjoy being at home on my own in the quiet.
A bit like the calm before the storm!
DONE
The week was catching up at work and more maternity appointments but we’ve had a great weekend that as always went by too quickly!
Saturday: we had a lovely first birthday party and after a stressful few weeks it was great to catch up with friends that we’ve just not had time to connect with recently. The bear had a great time….there was a paddling pool to get wet with, a ball pit and bubbles….what more could a 1 year old need out of life?!
Sunday: we originally planned to go see the Flying Scotsman in Shrewsbury but as that was cancelled, we actually had no plans which was great! As it was the Puddleducks half term we took the bear to meet one of her friends for a swimming date locally which she loved, and then just headed back home for some fun in the back garden. Hubby and the bear had a great time with the pool and a hoard of toys outside while I hid indoors and did some jobs as it seems pregnancy + the heat we had over the weekend did not mix for me!!
HEARD
Some amazing news this week which I am SOOOOOOOO excited about but unfortunately it is not my news to share, therefore it’ll had to remain my excited little secret a little longer before it is public knowledge.
READ
Not a lot at all at the moment…..unless social media counts?? I want to start reading again but to be honest the ‘to do’ list just seems to be getting longer and longer!! The to do list I give myself to be fair but there is so much I want to do before bean arrives. I just can’t believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by!
WATCHED
The Great British Sewing Bee made its way back onto our screens in May and I’m so excited for it! I hopped on the sewing bee train back in 2014 while pregnant with the bear and when I was travelling so much with work. With only limited TV channels stuck in a hotel room on your own you kind of get what you’re given, which is when I stumbled on this. I was hooked from the start and last year even got hubby into it.
I have to say I’m absolutely loving the series so far, though it seems to have gotten really difficult for the contestants really quickly – they’re certainly not taking it easy on them!
MADE
It’s been a good week for makes as I’ve managed to finish a few WIP’s:
A cute new pair of dungarees for the bear which I am really pleased with – I love this fabric and the loose style is great for keeping cool in the summer.
I also managed to finish this cute little romper for bean made in 6 months + so it will be good to go for winter. I’ve just started a cute little cardigan to go with it too….in gender neutral colours of course as we still do not know what flavor our little bean will be!
AND LASTLY
Pregnancy update….34 weeks and it’s been all go.
Last week I had my diabetes clinic check up which went well – they are happy with how I’ve been managing my levels via diet and therefore I am allowed to carry on for a few more weeks; though I still need to check my blood sugars 4 times a day. Hopefully if I keep going I will be able to avoid medication.
I also had my long awaited growth scan and baby is measuring fine, large head and tummy + short femur actually gives us a 50th percentile verdict which is right where s/he should be. Currently weighing an estimated 5lbs so baking well 🙂
I also had my ante-natal clinic appointment with the consultant to review everything that’s happened over the past few weeks and they’re (thankfully) happy with everything which means that although they still want to see me after my next growth scan at the end of the month, they’re happy for me to continue as is – so good news all round!
Plus on the bonus side I got given a few extra photos to keep – beans profile to the left and a little pair of feet to the right.
Week 18 -growing steadily
DONE
Although a bank holiday weekend, we didn’t really take advantage of it apart from in the home as my parents still had the bear as per a usual Monday and we took advantage by doing some much needed time in the house:
- His job = tile the downstairs loo which has been in a mid-decoration state since before Christmas.
- My job = clear out the spare room which was currently a dumping ground for…well just about everything!
It was a long day but we managed to get it all done ! Just some grouting to do in the loo to the floor tiles and then I can get a downstairs toilet back again. Yes….I know, first world problems but at 7 months pregnant it’s a luxury I’m looking forward to having again!!
The bear and I also had a lovely long weekend together with a play date Friday afternoon, breakfast with some friends Saturday morning, a lovely family meal Saturday night and then another play date Sunday as papa bear was out and about for most of the weekend doing exciting trail biking and not so exciting work leaving us girls to it.
Things I learnt this weekend:
- Taking a toddler shopping when she wants to run and play is not fun
- The zoo in 25 C heat is also not fun
HEARD
Some bad news this week….I had my Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) which is standard in all chubby pregnant women, and in my case in women with a history of diabetes in the family. Not saying I’m not chubby of course but the reason for having the test in my case was two-fold!! Unfortunately it was bad news as it’s been confirmed that I have Gestational Diabetes…..bugger.
I’m fairly relaxed about the diagnosis; just one of those extra things I need to manage over the coming months but the extreme tiredness I’ve had over the past few weeks now makes sense. Added to the SPD though it’s going to be a rough end to this pregnancy.
I have no idea on the impact yet…I have diabetes clinic this week (12th) and the midwife next week (19th) to go over my birth plan so I will know more then.
READ
I’m still going with ‘between you and me’ by Lisa Hall….unfortunately it’s been that busy a week I’ve not made much progress but it’s still going in the background.
As you can imagine though I have however read plenty of websites on Gestational Diabetes and a low GI diet…time to make a few big changes!!
WATCHED
Again, nothing of note but I’ve just added Mr. Robot to our Prime watchlist based on a good recommendation so I’m looking forward to getting to that at some point.
MADE
I attended another sewing workshop this week and made this awesome little skirt!
Read about the workshop here.
AND LASTLY
Pregnancy update….30 weeks and wow – where did that come from?! 39 cm from top to bottom now and an average of 1.3kg. Poor little bean is already getting the short end of the stick as with the bear we did weekly updates, we always knew where we were etc but this time around we just don’t seem to have the luxury of time so it just seems to be flying by!
Hen Party Boxes & partying while pregnant!
One of my lovely mummy friends is due to get married next month and this weekend was her hen weekend in Manchester. I umm’d and ahhhh’d for a while about going at 7 months pregnant but then thought why not – life doesn’t end when you gain a bump. Yes it was a sober affair (for me) but still great fun.
Preparation
Although I’m not involved in the wedding I wanted to contribute to the hen night in some way so I thought I would do some little favour boxes for everyone. Not everyone knows each other so I thought it would be a cute way to break the ice.
I ordered the boxes online at ‘The Party Box Shop’ and I can’t recommend them enough. Great quality, quick delivery, fabulous service and really reasonably priced.
The hen night survival kit as I dubbed the little boxes contained:
- Game Cards – a few games to start us talking all talking including ‘Who Am I’, ‘I Have Never’ and ‘Would You Rather’ games
- Party Poppers – to make sure the night goes with a bang!
- Shot glass – the hen has to collect all shot glasses by the end of the night and yep you guessed it…has to down the shot she was given in it.
- A Hen Peg – a drinking game where you need to get rid of your peg by pinning it on someone’s clothes unnoticed. If they notice, you have to down your drink, if they don’t notice they have to down theirs.
- Chocolates – to keep everyone energy up.
- Drinking Straw – so people don’t ruin their lipstick but in reality it’s a hen party and the straws are penis shaped….say no more!
- Eraser – the ‘erase’ kit for any mistakes anyone makes.
- Plasters – part of the ‘repair’ kit for the blisters on everyone’s feet.
- Paracetamol – part of the ‘recovery’ kit for everyone’s poorly head in the morning.
- Tea Bag – second part of the ‘recovery’ kit to have a drink on me in the morning
All set and ready to go!!
The Weekend!
Friday – we arrived early evening and Friday night was a pretty tame affair with a few drinks in the room and then dinner out at a Brazilian restaurant….lush!
Saturday – the big day! Unfortunately I couldn’t do a huge amount but the rest of the hen party enjoyed some trampolining at Jump Nation during the day and then at night some cocktail making (or mocktail making in my case) followed by a meal and dancing.
There were a few hiccups but overall a great night and the hen boxes were a great hit to break the ice over dinner. However, I found out the hard way that a club is not the place for a 7 month pregnant woman……not only us gravity NOT your friend when trying to dance but also things just get a little rowdy once it gets late.
The good news though? I managed to last until midnight….go me!!
Flashback Friday
This week’s Throwback Thursday has turned into Flashback Friday, because….well I was just too tired last night to post!
The reason? This bunch of crazy girls! I don’t have a huge amount of friends in my life – a list of which has gotten a lot smaller since I became a mummy – but I am very lucky that quality makes up for quantity. These three are a small group I wouldn’t be without and the reason I did not get in until gone 11:30 last night – a school night none the less!
A long overdue girlie catch up at a restaurant in the middle of where we all live, time flew as we no doubt made a loud nuisance of ourselves as we did not shut up from the moment we arrived until we finally left; a good hour or so later than planned. As one of them said last night: you know your friendships are real when you laugh and talk like its only been yesterday since you were together even if it’s been months. Love you girls!!